All Over Albany

Items tagged with 'crime'

You might have heard about the case of Marquis Dixon, the Albany teen convicted of stealing a pair of sneakers from another teen in downtown Albany in March of 2014. His case has gotten has a lot of attention -- from advocates such as Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration, and a series of columns written by Chris Churchill at Times Union -- because Dixon was sentenced to nine years in prison for the crime.

Advocates for Dixon have argued that sentence is unfairly harsh, especially given the limited evidence that he might have displayed or implied he had a gun during the crime (Dixon admitted to stealing the sneakers but said he never had a gun).

On Thursday a state appellate court ruled on Dixon's appeal. And the short story is that it decided Dixon should get youthful offender status and that his sentence be reduced to 1-3 years in prison.

You can read the decision online, which walks through the various elements in the case. For example: The court was unpersuaded that the limited evidence about the gun -- basically, the word of the victim that he saw something black and blocky tucked into Dixon's waistband -- should knock out that part of the case.

But the part about considering Dixon for youthful offender status is remarkable. (Presiding justice Karen Peters raised the issue during the oral arguments in the appeal.) The court basically concludes that everyone involved in the case screwed up on the question of whether Dixon should be eligible for the status.

This map is clipped from the AG office's interactive report -- it shows which states are the origin for the "likely-trafficked" guns recovered in the Capital Region.

Of the almost 53,000 guns recovered by law enforcement agencies in New York State between 2010 and 2015, 74 percent of those guns originated out of state. And of the 1,872 guns recovered in the Capital Region over that period, 67 percent were from out of state.

Not new (at all), but we were curious and maybe you are, too: Here's a series of photos of the points in the Clinton Correctional Facility through which inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped last weekend -- and, as of Friday afternoon, were still on the run. (You might have missed these if you haven't been following all the live, action, breaking, team coverage.) [Cuomo admin]

Authorities have said Matt and Sweat sawed through a panel in the back of their cells, got access to a catwalk that leads to a large pipe that runs out the prison, cut a hole in the pipe, and then crawled through the pipe before finally exiting from a manhole in the street a block away. Apparently they used power tools to do this, and how they got those tools has become a key part of the story -- and there have been some conflicting versions. [TU]

(Yep, it's all very Shawshank, except it seems pretty clear these guys were guilty.)

The top source states for New York: Virginia (14 percent), Pennsylvania (11 percent), Florida (10 percent), Georgia (10 percent), and South Carolina (8.6 percent). The top states for guns traced back to New York: Florida (17 percent), New Jersey (9 percent), and Pennsylvania (9 percent).

Of the traces logged by the ATF in 2012, 45 percent were for guns recovered in New York City. A little less than 1 percent -- 79 guns -- were recovered in Albany.

It was one of the most bizarre -- and scary -- local stories of the past week: UAlbany police say a man attempted to abduct two women at a bus stop near the university's downtown campus. And in one of the incidents, they allege the man had a knife -- thankfully another student intervened and no one was hurt. [YNN] [News10]

One of the things about crime stories is that so often the people involved -- both perpetrators and victims -- end up being portrayed as one-dimensional characters. And while there are understandable reasons why that happens -- time, space, limited resources, limited attention -- it also sometimes makes it hard to remember these events are happening to real people. And maybe it also makes it harder for us to understand how and why these things happen.

The man accused in the alleged abduction attempts is 54-year-old Anthony Collins. As it happens, Collins is the subject of a documentary project by UAlbany student Shannon Straney. In the short doc, Collins talks about being diagnosed with mental illness, and Straney's project is aimed at better understanding how the condition has affected his life. Part 1 of the project is embedded above.

We got in touch with Straney this week to ask her a few questions about the documentary project, and how it's prompted her to look at the alleged incident from the past week. Here's a quick Q&A...

With the exception of crimes related to domestic incidents and sexual assaults, all reported crime in our city will be mapped with a built in 72 hour posting delay. The delay is designed to give Investigators a "first look" at an incident and apply any limitations they see fit specifically relevant to their investigation. Once mapped, the information remains embedded in the mapping, subject to numerous choices the user can make; eg. date range, type of crime, etc. Previously noted exceptions to the mapping will always be subject to inclusion should a public safety need to post the incident be evident.

This is a good step, as we've said a bunch of times before, it'd be great to see other local municipalities head in this direction.

From the odd alleged crime file: Someone is apparently going around Albany neighborhoods stealing bottles out of the boxes for home-delivered milk.

Bernard emails:

My family has been dealing with the lamest criminal ever for a couple of weeks now. I'd appreciate it if you could share this with your audience. My understanding from the Meadowbrook dairy folks is that they are getting many reports of stolen milk from folks in the New Scotland Ave, Center Square and South End.

This guy is basically driving his bike around 3-5 days a week from 6-7:30 in the morning to steal milk bottles. (Yes, you can still get milk delivered.) The cops and the dairy are pretty sure that he either steals empties, or dumps the full bottle so that he can return them to stores like the food coop, shop-rite, fresh market for a whopping $2.

As a geek, I of course seized this annoyance as an opportunity to buy (an incredibly cheap) wifi network camera with night vision. So here he is. Albany people, if you recognize this dude or see a guy with neon yellow sneakers stealing crap from people, please let me know and call the Albany police.

Bernard's video is embedded above.

We talked with the Albany Police Department about the situation. APD spokesman Steve Smith says they've gotten two official reports of recent milk bottle thefts -- one in the New Scotland neighborhood, the other in Center Square -- but they believe there have been "several" other incidents.

(We've also heard, secondhand, that in one case the milk was poured out before the bottle was taken. And that would be a crime -- Meadowbrook milk is delicious.)

If you have info about the bottle thefts, call the APD: (518) 438-4000.

The arrests followed a lengthy investigation by the Albany FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force that began in April 2012 when authorities received information that Crawford had approached local Jewish organizations seeking out individuals who might offer assistance in helping him with a type of technology that could be used against people he perceived as enemies of Israel. ...

As charged in a Complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Albany, the essence of the defendants' scheme was the creation of a mobile, remotely operated, radiation emitting device capable of killing targeted individuals silently with lethal doses of X-ray radiation. The defendants plotted to use this device against unwitting victims who would not immediately be aware that they had absorbed lethal doses of radiation, the harmful effects of which would only appear days after the exposure. This was an undercover investigation and, unbeknownst to the defendants, the device that the defendants designed and intended to use was rendered inoperable at all times and posed no danger to the public.

The federal complaint is embedded after the jump.

In the complaint, the feds allege Crawford "identified Muslims and several other individuals/groups as targets." They allege he had contact with the KKK, and that he also tried to solicit support from local Jewish organizations to help build a weapon that could be used against Israel's enemies (the TU reports one of the orgs was Congregation Gates of Heaven in Schenectady) -- the orgs reported Crawford and that put him on the radar with authorities. Feight was allegedly brought in to help build a device for remotely activating the radiation weapon.

The Times Union has more details from the complaint, in which the feds say Crawford never got a hold of a radiation source because an undercover FBI agent was acting as his supplier.

The allegations are unsettling and bizarre. And they prompt a lot of questions about the situation -- perhaps the primary one is whether these guys could have actually pulled off what they allegedly intended to do if the FBI hadn't been running interference.

We talked with a nuclear engineer about just that question this afternoon...

Citing the prevalence of mobile theft -- and the violence that sometimes occurs along with it -- Schneiderman said in a statement: "The companies that dominate this industry have a responsibility to their customers to fulfill their promises to ensure safety and security." The AG has sent letters to heads of Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Samsung urging them to take up the issue.

In particular, I seek to understand why companies that can develop sophisticated handheld electronics, such as the products manufactured by Apple, cannot also create technology to render stolen devices inoperable and thereby eliminate the expanding black market on which they are sold. I would be especially concerned if device theft accrues to your company's financial benefit through increased sales of replacement devices. A recent study found that lost and stolen cell phones cost consumers over $30 billion last year.

Here's more about that analysis Schneiderman references. The "mobile security" firm behind has also conveniently agreed to "advise [Schneiderman's] office on a pro bono basis on these issues."

Coincidentally or not, Schneiderman's announcement follows a NYT story early this month that looked at the same set of issues. The article focused on making it harder for a phone to be wiped and re-used after it was reported stolen.

As alleged, Assemblyman Eric Stevenson was bribed to enact a statutory moratorium to give his co-defendants a local monopoly - a fairly neat trick that offends core principles of both democracy and capitalism, simultaneously, and it is exactly what the defendants managed to do. The allegations illustrate the corruption of an elected representative's core function - a legislator selling legislation.

OK, so how much do you think local monopoly-creating state legislation goes for these days? Here's some help: One of the businessmen allegedly involved in this scheme said the moratorium on the opening of new adult day care centers would cause the value of their own day care centers to "skyrocket." That's gotta be worth a lot. So Stevenson must have really raked in some serious coin for this alleged deal, especially when you consider the risks, right?

The alleged bribe: $10,000.

Yep, that's all it allegedly cost to buy a piece of state legislation that would effectively block competition for what is probably a multi-million dollar business. Just 10 grand. That's not even enough to buy a new sub-compact car.

Which leads us to wonder: Why haven't we been buying state legislation all along?! Who knew it was so cheap?! It's practically a steal! Do you get a discount if you buy in bulk? If we order it via Amazon Prime, can we have it delivered the next day (in session only)?

The fact that there is corruption in state government is already frustrating, irksome, and sad -- it's even more so when we find we're all being sold out at such a discount.

A spot in the mayoral primary
Earlier this week, state Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, was charged with being part of scheme to bribe three Republican city officials to let him on their party's primary ballot for mayor of New York City. The alleged price (bribe) for that: about $100,000 paid by an intermediary -- and help getting $500k from the state for a road project.

Albany police say they arrested two people following a fight near Washington Ave and Swan Street Saturday after the St. Patrick's Day parade. APD says it believes it's the same fight in the video that surfaced online this weekend of a brawl on the steps of West Capitol Park. Based on a rough guess from the video, it appears the fight included maybe 10-20 people with a bunch of onlookers. The video is embedded above. (Turn the sound down -- it's super annoying. Also, the camera guy probably isn't saying turnip.)

From the APD press release:

As officers were dispersing the crowd, Clint Junco, 18, Delmar, did lunge at and strike an on-duty police officer in the face with a closed fist. Junco was arrested and charged with Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest, and Assaulting an Officer.

The fight occurred after the parade had concluded and the crowd was quickly dispersed.

Full press release post jump.

Of course, this kind of thing is on everyone's radar because of the kegs 'n eggs free-for-all a few years ago. This doesn't appear to rise to that level. At all. It's not even the entirely-new-cast-except-one-minor-character, low-budget, direct-to-video sequel to kegs 'n eggs.

But -- and not to make too much out of this -- it is notable that the two people arrested for allegedly being part of this incident are both not from the city. If you talk with residents of areas such as the Lark Street/Washington Park neighborhood following a large event, you'll often hear them lament the rather jerkish behavior of people attending the parade/festival/whatever -- many of whom then head back home somewhere else, either out of the neighborhood or out of the city.

The Troy Police Department says it executed search warrants at two sites Tuesday night as part of an investigation into what it describes as "a major drug production and distribution operation."

Among the items the TPD says it found at an apartment on 16th Street: "pancakes" of crack (photo above). From the press release:

Also subject to the execution of a search warrant was the basement apartment at 2209 16th Street. Troy Police ERT was deployed to insure safe entry based upon concerns of possible weapons present. After the location was secured, Investigators located a large cache of US currency ($9300), approximately 100 grams of marihuana and a copious amount of crack cocaine, in both bulk form and packaged for sale. Within the apartment were scales, cutting agents, "cooking" utensils and drug packaging materials. Of note was the discovery of one and one-half pounds of crack cocaine in pancake form; the drug was in its bulk state, not yet cut or packaged. Live ammunition was also discovered within the apartment.

That is a lot of crack. Troy police captain John Cooney tells us the pancakes would be worth $30,000 broken up for sale. TPD says the apartment resident wasn't home at the time, and there's been no arrest, yet. (Full press release post jump.)

Cocaine still ranked #1 among illicit drugs for emergency department visits for misuse or abuse of drugs in 2011, according to data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network compiled by the feds. (By the way: the number of such visits for pharmaceuticals -- that is, prescription drugs -- topped those of all illicit drugs in 2011, with 458.3 visits per 100k population vs. 402 for illicit drugs. The rate of visits for pharmaceuticals was up 114 percent between 2004 and 2011.)

One guess why cocaine use is down (and prescription drug abuse is up): the economy. [Time]

State Police and Albany Police officials are currently searching for Eric L. Green, 18, date of birth February 7, 1995, for questioning in conjunction with the assault and stabbing which occurred on March 3, 2013 on the concourse of the Empire State Plaza on Trooper Rodney L. Smith.

Green's current address is unknown but he does have ties to the Grand Street area in the City of Albany. Officials are asking anyone who might have seen him or know of his whereabouts to contact 518-474-5330 with any information.

Full press release post jump.

State Police say Smith was stabbed in the neck with steak knife around 3:15 pm. NYSP says the attacker had struck up a conversation with Smith, and while Smith was looking at the man's ID, the man stabbed him. Smith was taken to Albany Med and is expected to recover.

Not the typical broken-up house party: Albany police say they responded to a call for "a loud disturbance" early Friday morning in Pine Hills (map). The APD press release continues:

While investigating the incident, officers located a total of 14 individuals in the basement being subjected to what appeared to be an initiation for membership in an unsanctioned group or fraternity.

Officers observed several individuals lying face down on the basement floor with their faces submerged in water. They were being struck with wooden paddles and rubber hoses while being told to "beg for mercy" and having cold water from a garden hose poured on their heads.

APD says nine people in total were arrested on a variety of charges -- seven of them were charged with hazing in the second degree. APD spokesman Steven Smith says eight of the nine charged are UAlbany students.

Earlier this year I served on an Albany County grand jury. I had been dreading the experience -- one day a week for eight weeks was going to be a huge pain because of the work disruption. After it was over, though, I was glad to have served. In fact, I think everyone should serve on a jury at least once. It will make you see the world a bit differently.

The APD is using an online system called Nixle, which offers law enforcement agencies the capability to issue notifications sorted by geographic zone to signed-up users. The department has been trying it out in the Pine Hills and Washington Park areas, and it says it's now ready to introduce it to other neighborhoods in the city.

Yesterday Jerry Jennings and a group of downtown Albany business people stood in Albany City Hall to reassure everyone that the Pearl Street area is on the edge of a major change that will turn the city's downtown into a 24/7 community.

You probably know the reason for this affirmation session: the comment from Ralph Spillenger -- the owner of the Bayou Cafe and the soon-to-be-closed Jillian's -- that his business had failed, in part, because people are afraid to go downtown because of crime.

So, who's right? This situation is complicated because so much of it depends on perception.

So, I'm watching the Olympics with my daughters. And we're talking about how strong the women on the screen are, how brave the 15-year-old girl is as she twists and turns at 35 miles per hour off the high diving platform and into the water.

"Mom, I want to do that. But she should be wearing a life-jacket. How can she swim without a life-jacket?"

"Well, she practiced and practiced. And she learned how to hold air in her lungs and use her hands and feet, just like you do when you're wearing your life-jacket."

"But that's far to jump. She shouldn't go by herself."

I want to throw caution to the wind and tell my 5-year-old little girl that someday she'll be able to go places by herself, too. That she'll be jumping without a life jacket, and that I will hold my breath until she comes back up from under the water. But, truth be told, I am grateful for being the mother of a cautious child some days. Apparently, it's a scary world out there.

There was recently a report of an attempted abduction just across the bridge in Scotia. A 10-year-old girl told her mother and police about an older man in a rusted, light-green, 4-door sedan who had tried to lure her into the car with candy.

But she made it up. The girl later admitted to Scotia police that she wanted to get attention from her parents. There is a new baby at her home.

There was about a week between that first report and the news that it was false. And despite the statistics that very few kids -- only about a hundred, out of tens of thousands of reports -- are taken in this sort of stereotypical situation, I had a day or two when my girls only played in the back yard.

These sorts of stories generate a lot of fear -- they're our worst nightmare. And we'd like to think that the world wasn't always like this, that there were times that qualify as 'back in the day' when things like creeps in light green sedans didn't threaten the way we look at the world. But this just doesn't hold up. There have always been creeps in rusted, light green 4 door sedans.

No injuries, no fatalities and nothing was taken that can't be replaced.

Well, almost nothing.

One early morning about a week ago, while I allowed myself an extra hour to sleep off some jet lag, and my husband got ready for work, a neighbor knocked on our door. He'd noticed a teenage girl wearing ripped pants and a backpack slip out of our back alley.

Now there's only one way into the alley, and he didn't see her enter. He asked her some questions but he wasn't comfortable with the answers, so he knocked on a few doors to see if everything was alright.

Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer. It's when many of us first open our pools, go camping, or host a backyard BBQ. But with the warmer weather comes an increase in violence and crime, and many of us are concerned with the number of shootings we have already seen this spring.

Albany police say the owner and an employee of Lark News and Grocery Saturday evening for drug possession. The APD says officer Michael Geraci -- the beat officer for the Lark Street area -- stopped into the store and saw the owner -- Zahid Gilani -- "sitting with several bags of marijuana and a scale at the stores counter." A store employee was also allegedly found with crystal meth, according to the APD.

The APD says it got a tip from someone who recognized Kimber's face from the security cam screengrabs shown on the news (the hospital posted a $25,000 reward for info directly leading to an arrest this week). It says detectives searched Kimber's residence in Ulster County and found "evidence linking him to the incident."

Still not clear: why someone would spread mercury around a hospital cafeteria. Or drive 50 miles to do it.

"This investigation has shut down a major network of gang members responsible for the sale of illegal drugs and possession of dangerous weapons in our neighborhoods," said AG Eric Schneiderman in a statement. The AG's office says the operation was trafficking "massive quantities" of cocaine, heroin, and prescription painkillers.

The AG's office says the investigation helped, at least temporarily, short circuit the cycle of violent retaliation between the city's gangs:

Richard Gibbs (aka "50 Cent"), was one of the main subjects of this investigation. Back in February, he was murdered in the South End of Albany by a rival gang. Following that incident, [Organized Crime Task Force] investigators were informed about additional retaliation over authorized wiretaps. This allowed investigators to intercept the gun that was intended to be used in the retaliation attempt. The increasing violence on the streets made it necessary for OCTF to move quickly on this case before there was any more bloodshed. [That link is to a TU story about the shooting. Contrary to the AG's press release, Gibbs was killed this past November. The APD press release about the November shooting is after the jump.]

Originally tagged as a "person of interest," the APD said today this man is now a suspect.

Albany Med announced today that it's put up a $25,000 reward for info leading directly to arrest and conviction of the person responsible for spreading mercury around the medical center's cafeteria on March 2. Albany police have released surveillance video screengrabs of the man they say is a suspect (above, and after the jump).

The images are from 4:19 and 4:23 pm on March 2.

The APD is asking people with info to call its criminal investigations unit: 462-8039.

Crime fact of the day: There have been 41 copper burglaries reported to the Albany Police Department in the last 16 months. The APD says 3/4 of the burglaries have been in vacant buildings.

The latest incident involved a vacant, bank-owned house in the Whitehall neighborhood. The APD says a man was arrested for allegedly posing as a contractor in order to strip the house of its copper piping. (Full press release after the jump.)

If you keep an eye out here in the Capital Region, you'll notice there's a copper theft story every week or so. Many of the stories have stuck out for either the audacity (and stupidity) of the people involved, or the consequences of the theft.

Maybe because of the weather, maybe because of coincidence, this it turning out to be a WTF? day in local crime reports. From the awful, to the bizarre, to the Canadian...

Assault on the front steps
Albany police say a 61-year-old has been hospitalized for skull fractures after he we was allegedly beaten by men selling drugs on his brother's front steps Saturday in the South End. He had reportedly told the men to leave, there was an argument, and the group repeatedly punched and kicked them man, leaving him in the middle of the street. One man has been arrested and charged with gang assault.

Dirty old man
The APD says two sisters, ages 10 and 7, reported that a man -- approximately 70 years of age, wearing a black beret -- exposed himself to them as they walked home from Arbor Hill Elementary yesterday.

Church crasher
The APD says a 60-year-old homeless man was arrested for allegedly ripping apart the chapel at St. Peter's Hospital yesterday. It alleges the man "threw numerous chairs around the room. He then overturned two church pews that were screwed into the floor causing the wood to split. He proceeded to flip over a wooden alter which caused it to partially break. Artz also allegedly punched several holes in the walls and ripped wiring from inside."

Canadian!
Niskayuna police say an investigation involving the FBI has concluded that threatening YouTube videos directed at Niskayuna High School students starting last fall didn't originate locally. In fact, they didn't originate in this country. The NPD says the suspect is a minor -- in Ontario -- with no prior connection to the students. She allegedly noticed one of the Niskayuna students in a chat room and then tried to egg on some sort of online fight that was going on among the students.

The lesson here, of course: beware of Canadians.

More details on all these incidents are in press releases, pasted after the jump.

Albany police said today they've arrested a 15-year-old girl for allegedly being the bleach thrower in the incident outside the Arbor Hill library two weeks ago. From the press release (emphasis added):

The suspect was with another girl inside the library on February 3 waiting for her tutor in the teen area. The victim, 15, came into the library with another friend and sat down in close proximity to the suspect. Both girls started to make fun of the victim's clothes and his appearance. According to witnesses the suspect then started taking pictures and video of the victim with her cell phone. The victim, annoyed by photos being taken, knocked the camera out of the girls hand. The suspect started to yell at the victim and caused a commotion. She stated to him "you're going to get the bleach".

The teen has been charged with felony assault.

In the same press release, the APD says officers broke up a fight among three girls outside the Adult Learning Center on Western Ave near the downtown UAlbany campus on Monday. After the fight was broken up, the APD says a school official turned over a soda bottle filled with bleach that one of the fighting students had been carrying.

As Kate Welshofer tweeted this afternoon: "The only person who should be using bleach as a weapon is #MrClean."

Albany police say they've arrested an 11-year-old boy for allegedly breaking into cars near Washington Park -- and running an inside job robbery on a Lark Street store. From the APD press release:

Officer Michael Geraci was following up on a burglary report last Thursday with the owner of Frame Workshop at 215 Lark Street. The owner stated that someone had entered the business through a unlocked window between Wednesday night and Thursday morning and stole $240 from the cash register. Several picture frames, which were in front of the window, were also damaged when the suspect climbed in.

The owner told Officer Geraci that a young boy, who he had befriended, had been hanging around the business over the last couple of days and was inside on several occasions. He believed that the boy had intentionally unlocked the window while he was inside the shop so he could get inside when the business was closed. The owner gave Officer Geraci the boy's name and showed him a picture of the boy on Facebook.

The full press release is pasted after the jump.

This is at least the second recent arrest that's resulted from Geraci noticing something on his Center Square beat (the other: the man who allegedly posed as a detective). Both cases point to the potential payoff of having beat cops and community policing (and admittedly, it's a tiny sample). Would those arrests have been made without it? Sure, maybe. But having an officer out in the neighborhood, talking to people, making connections couldn't have hurt.

Weird: Albany police say a 19-year-old man has admitted to responding to "several dozen" police calls over the past year, representing himself as a detective.

From the APD press release:

On Tuesday evening just after 5:00 p.m. officers investigating a person with a gun call were involved in a brief foot pursuit that led to a arrest for criminal trespass at 273 Third Street. Officer [Michael] Geraci was one of the officers who responded to the call and he located a handgun on Thornton Street. Several minutes after the call went out [Ryan] Mann showed up to the scene on Thornton Street. ...

Mann was wearing eye glasses, had on a blue fleece jacket, dress shirt and tie, khaki pants and shoes. He had a bullet proof vest on and was carrying a portable radio, similar to one that police officers carry.

Officer Geraci initially questioned him at the scene and Mann was brought to the detective division to be interviewed. Mann admitted to responding to several dozen calls over the past year, mostly in the Center Square area. He monitored police calls through a phone application that scans police transmissions, carried a police badge from Oakland, California and would identify himself as Detective Ruff when he encountered people in the public.

The APD says Geraci nabbed Mann after recognizing him from responding to other police calls in the Lark Street area.

There is no indication at this time that Mann specifically targeted anyone or anything for gain or that he was a threat to anyone. He was scheduled for a mental health evaluation.

Mann has been charged with criminal possession of stolen property, but for the moment, not impersonation. APD says it's still investigating.

The city of Albany was ranked 295th on this year's list -- that's up (or, in reference to crime, down) from #317 in the 2010 rankings. And the crime score compiled by CQ for the city dropped from 86.77 to 68.06.

CQ Press also ranks metropolitan areas. The Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro is #77 on this year's rankings -- it was #73 on last year's list. It's still well below the national average.

The Glens Falls metro ranked #8 this year, after topping the rankings last year.

If you're curious about the methodology behind these rankings -- and the strong criticism of them -- here's a little more...

Albany detectives have arrested a mother and daughter for robbing and beating a Watervliet man with a baseball bat and table lamp and then filing a report with police claiming he had burglarized their apartment.

The whole alleged situation has a TV crime procedural arc about it. Detectives rolling up to the crime scene, talking with witnesses, the twist, and now the Law & Order clang CLANG. (The courtroom part is after the next commercial break.)

Officials in Albany announce details Thursday of the extension of the "Safe Corridor" program to new Lark Street and Central Avenue.

Part of the project will involve signs around the city that will direct pedestrians along what the program deems the safest route. The goal is to have as many people as possible along certain routes to prevent crimes from happening. There will also be "Safe Haven" business stickers given to participating business, as well as special LGBT-friendly rainbow stickers given to some businesses in the Lark Street and Central Avenue areas.

There are a bunch of issues that go along with this sort of program. Are businesses ready for the responsibility that goes along with being a "safe haven?" And does designating certain streets as "safe" mean that other possible routes might become less safe because fewer people travel down them.

The program could be helpful. And it's encouraging to see attention to the issue. But real change will probably only come from stepped-up policing and increased engagement with the public.

This past weekend in Albany's Center Square neighborhood a pizza deliveryman for Soho Pizza was the target of what must have been a terrifying attack. From the Albany Police Department press release about the incident:

At approximately 1:10 a.m. James Kehoe, 25, was attempting to make a food delivery for Soho Pizza to 172 Jay Street. He was approached on the street by the first suspect who told him "hold on my brother will be right out with the money". A second suspect came from across the street and wrapped his arm around the victim's throat and threw him to the ground. A third suspect then walked up behind Kehoe and placed what appeared to be a handgun to his neck and told him not to scream or he would get shot. The first suspect then reached into Kehoe's pockets and stole his money and cell phone.

The APD says the suspects fled the scene after getting the money and phone. A search of the area, including a sweep by a K-9 team, came up empty.

You might not think that being a food delivery person is a dangerous job, but attacks on them are not uncommon in Albany and other Capital Region cities. In fact, there have been six incidents just this year.

Concerned and curious about about the frequency and locations of these attacks, we gathered reports of the crimes from the past four years, organized them by date, and mapped them.

YNN says Erin Vannella, one of its reporters, contacted the man via phone at the request of police. The station has been playing a recording of parts of the phone call on the air. In the clip, the man says he loves his wife and is suicidal. Vannella later said on air that the conversation went on for a long time and it appeared the situation was going to require patience.

A handful of media reports have mentioned that many people in the court room -- Callicut's family, Bailey's family, jurors -- were crying after the verdict. [YNN]

Every thing about this story is unbelievably sad. Bailey was 22-years-old, a senior in college who planned to become a police officer after graduating. Callicut, and the two men who admitted to being lookouts to the crime, were just teens. One of the lookouts -- King Modest -- was apparently a kid with a lot of potential. [Metroland]

Albany police said they had arrested a 12-year-old early Sunday morning for allegedly driving a stolen car and then leading officers on a short chase through Pine Hills.

Unusual enough... but there's more. The APD says this same kid was also arrested for driving a stolen minivan last Tuesday. The department had gotten a call around 1 am on November 30 about a vehicle "driving all over the road" near Quail and Central. The APD says officiers eventually nabbed the kid about eight blocks away in West Hill.

The APD says the 12-year-old is a resident of the LaSalle School on Western Ave (the school across from St. Rose). They say the kid told them he had taken to key to minivan from the school nurse's office.

In Schenectady, NY, a school maintenance man named Steve Raucci works his way up the ranks for 30 years, until finally he's in charge of the maintenance department. That's when he starts messing with his employees. Teasing them at meetings. Punishing them with crummy work assignments. Or worse things, like secretly slashing their tires in the middle of the night.

TAL airs on WAMC Friday night at 8 pm and Saturday at 4 pm. You can also listen -- and download -- online.

The APD says the contractor had been an agreement with owner to remove the pipe -- but it ended this past June, which is why the contractor was arrested on charges for burglary, grand larceny and criminal mischief. They allege he has taken more than 200,000 pounds of pipe valued at more than $26,000 in the time since the agreement ended. [CBS6] [APD]

There appears to have been a string of bicycle thefts over the weekend in the Whitehall/Delaware neighborhood in Albany. My bicycle was stolen out of my open garage while I was home on Sunday in broad daylight (between 6:30-7:30PM). The officer who came and took the incident report said he had just come from another home where two bicycles were stolen out of an open garage. I went on Craigslist this morning to look to see if my bike was on there and found that five bikes were stolen on Delaware Ave on Sunday around 12:30PM off of a porch (a few blocks away - I live on Whitehall).

It's a serious drag to think that you might have to lock up your bike in your own garage.

Today's hunt for an armed robber in Troy and subsequent lockdown at RPI seemed to stir up a lot people. There was the obvious (and understandable) "Yikes!" reaction to the thought of an armed suspect running through the neighborhood near campus -- but there also seemed to be a bit of confusion and frustration with the way information about the situation was communicated.

Thankfully, no one got hurt. And maybe there are some good things that can come out of all this for the next situation.

Each year when Crime in the United States is published, some entities use reported figures to compile rankings of cities and counties. These rough rankings provide no insight into the numerous variables that mold crime in a particular town, city, county, state, or region. Consequently, they lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting communities and their residents. Valid assessments are possible only with careful study and analysis of the range of unique conditions affecting each local law enforcement jurisdiction.

[Corey] Ellis met Modest about a year ago. He got a call from Modest's aunt. "She said, 'I hear you help young men.' I told her that I do," recalls Ellis. Ellis then met Modest and talked to him like he was a real person, not some street kid, a criminal, or a pariah unworthy of his attention. After that, Ellis brought Modest to a peer-mentoring program at the Arbor Hill Community Center. That is when Ellis says he realized Modest's ability to influence his peers.

"You gotta just pull them out one by one," says Ellis.

But Ellis realizes despite the fact that he grabs Modest off the street whenever he can, even though he is willing to go out of his way to find him and give him something to do other than hang on the street, trouble is still waiting.

"It is that one day that I am not there. That single moment. I see it when he is away hanging with his friends for a while. He changes. Then, when he is back with me, he is himself again."

...

"People have told me King is going to break my heart," says Ellis. "I told 'em to wait and see. This young man is special."

State Senate Democrats are reportedly willing to support raising taxes on households making more than $250,000 as a way to cover the budget gap (they also apparently support an increase in the sales tax). There's already support for the measure in the Assembly. David Paterson has said such move should be a last resort. [NYT]

A Lansinburgh woman is dead after police found her fatally wounded in the basement of her house yesterday morning. Authorities says the woman's boyfriend had to be tasered after he threatened police and firefighters who arrived at the scene with a knife. Police found two kids in the house, unharmed. A spokesman for the TPD says it was a "gruesome crime scene." [Troy Record] [TU]

The eight count indictment alleges that Bruno used his influence as state Senate majority leader to score $3.2 million in consulting fees from private clients. (The TU has posted a copy of the indictment.)

A father and his two daughters escaped with just a few cuts and bruises after two trains hit their SUV. The father said he never saw the trains coming as he drove through a train crossing near their home in New Scotland Saturday morning. The two collisions knocked the front and back ends off the SUV. The crossing has no signals -- the father says he'd been pushing the town and the train company to change that. [TU] [Troy Record] [Fox23] [Fox23]

A big portion of the proposed budget cuts come from school aid. Among the proposed cuts for local districts: Albany $2.6 million (3.4 percent), Schenectady $2.7 million (3 percent), Guilderland $2 million (10 percent), Troy $1.4 million (3 percent). [TU]

Also among the proposed cuts: VLT money that goes to cities and counties. Saratoga Springs could lose $1.8 million next year under the Paterson plan. The city's finance commissioner says the city's going to plan on still getting the full amount. VLT money makes up about 10 percent of the city's budget. [Saratogian]

You might have seen this already, but we had to post it because, well, it's pretty funny. (In the of-course-we-don't-condone-vandalism-at-all kind of way.) It's surveillance video of the three people who damaged the horse sculpture outside Roohan Realty on Broadway in Saratoga this past weekend. (Full length from the TU and CBS6 -- a sort of highlight reel from 518L).

What gets us about this video is the way the people look like they're acting drunk: the exaggerated stumbling and tumbling, the way the cigarettes swing around in their hands, the almost forced-looking laughter. It's like drunk people parodying themselves.

Albany police say a new witness has reported seeing a third teen on a bike ride away from the scene of Richard Bailey's murder. (Two earlier witnesses reported seeing two teens on bikes.) The APD says it still doesn't have any solid leads in the case. [TU]

Local police departments say they're stepping up patrols tonight for Halloween. Apparently stores will also be watching for teens with shopping carts full of "trickster items." [TU]

Police say a woman was murdered in her Schenectady home over the weekend. They say it appears Jaiwanti Mangar, a Guyanese immigrant, was killed after being struck in the head. [Daily Gazette]

Despite the stepped up police presence in the neighborhood following the nearby murder of UAlbany Richard Bailey, a man was stabbed four times at the corner of Madison and Ontario in Albany early Saturday morning. The attack was related to a fight over a woman, apparently. [Fox 23] [TU]

Much of last night's debate between Kirsten Gillibrand and Sandy Treadwell focused on the economy. Gillibrand said insufficient government regulation played a role in the financial meltdown (video clip) -- she also talked about why she didn't support the bailout bill (Treadwell says he didn't, either). Also discussed: Gillibrand's involvement with Altria dating back to her time as a corporate lawyer. Treadwell said Gillibrand's involvement with the tobacco company "is a question of judgment" (video clip). [TU] [WMHT] [WMHT]

The chairwoman of the Schenectady County legislature has proposed a ban on texting while driving in the county. Three other NY counties currently have such bans. [TU]

Albany police say they're making "slow progress" on the investigation into the shooting death of UAlbany student Richard Bailey. The two young adults seen riding away from the scene on bikes apparently are now considered to be involved, but not suspects. [TU]

The APD says a group of teens has been behind a string of car break-ins throughout the city's Pine Hills neighborhood. There have been 100 of these break-ins since the summer, including 12 this week. [TU] [FOX23]

The proposed 2009 budget for Cohoes includes an almost 4 percent tax increase. Water and sewer fees would increase 8 percent. [TU]

New York is tightening the rules for steroid use in race horses. "Steroids are no better for four-legged athletes than they are for two," said the chairman of the state's racing and wagering board. [Saratogian] [AP]

Check this out: two guys were arrested this week at the Port of Albany for stealing flour. Yep, the stuff used to make bread. The haul seized at the time of the arrest was worth almost $2 grand, but police think the duo might be responsible for as much as 375 tons of flour that's gone missing at the port.

The water coming out of taps in Troy and other supplied towns is still orangish-brown and officials say it's still safe to drink (though not to wash white clothes in). The head of Troy's water operation says the high level of dissolved iron and manganese from the Tomhannock Reservoir is "natural," though he's "never seen anything like this" in his 28 years there. There's speculation the heavy rain this summer might have something to do with it. [TU] [Troy Record] [CapNews9]

The Albany Police Department detective say the suspect in the January Delaware Ave triple murder confessed to the crime and then hugged him. The suspect's attorney is trying to get the statement thrown out. [TU]

As if shoveling horse manure all day wasn't bad enough, the New York State Department of Labor says many backstretch workers at The Track are not only not getting paid overtime, they're not even making minimum wage. The labor department says horse trainers, who employ the backstretch workers, are engaged in "widespread violations labor law." [TU]

Two workers for Precision Industrial Maintenance in Schenectady were overcome by toxic fumes yesterday when they stepped inside a tanker truck used to collect raw sewage. Both were taken to the hospital in critical condition. Precision was cited for violating workplace safety rules on a different project earlier this year. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

A plan to turn an apartment building in Troy's Little Italy neighborhood into housing for homeless people with mental illnesses is catching flak from residents of the area. They say they're worried the building could hold back the neighborhood's revitalization. [TU]

The Troy police busted 16 men this week during what they've described as an undercover prostitution "reverse-sting." As you might expect, there were some complaints from the busted. One guy says he didn't actually ask the undercover policewoman for, um, service (police say the same guy was arrested on the same charges last year). And another says he had a stick stuck up his nose during the arrest. [TU] [Troy Record]

After having their Schenectady store broken into eight times over three years, the owners of Funn Electronics and Keys World say they're moving back to Brooklyn, where they didn't have any trouble. They say they might stay if the city would allow them to install a metal gate that could be pulled down over the business while it's closed -- but the city doesn't allow them. [Daily Gazette]

The alleged stabber has been found. He turned up at a hospital in Troy. Police aren't sure what prompted the incident.

Maybe-funny-only-to-us line from that CBS6 story: "This is something Albany fire trains on regularly and it paid off this morning." They train for removing 300-pound stabbing victims from the top of buildings?

A fire burned through 22,000 square feet of warehouse space at the Rotterdam Corporate Park yesterday. It took more than 100 firefighters to put out the flames. A fire department official says the warehouse's fire walls and doors -- left over from the building's original use as an Army depot -- helped save the rest of the facility. [Daily Gazette]

The Saratoga Springs school superintendent says the school board will fire that teacher who had been emailing, texting and IM'ing one of his students about poetry and other topics that, in the words of the teacher, his wife found "very disturbing." [TU]

Daniel Lorello, the state archivist who had been accused of stealing state artifacts and selling them, pleaded guilty yesterday to second-degree larceny. He could get two to six years in prison. He's also been ordered to pay more than $100,000 in restitution. [TU]

SCCC will start construction on a $20 million dorm next month. The five story building will go up on Railroad Ave next to the Armory. [Daily Gazette]

Asian-Americans have been the fastest growing ethnic population in the Capital Region since 2000, according to census data. Community members say tech jobs and educational opportunities are behind the growing numbers. [TU]

It looks like Albany County DA might face opposition in the November election, after all. County Republicans are working to have attorney Roger Cusick -- who ran against Soares in 2004 -- run on the Integrity Party line. The what? Republicans waited too long to put someone on their own line, so they had to create a new one, thus Integrity. [TU]

The field of Republican candidates for the 20th Congressional District (Kirsten Gillibrand's seat) has thinned. The petitions for Mike Rocque and John Wallace were tossed, leaving Sandy Treadwell as the sole Republican. [Daily Gazette]

Schenectady is looking to generate power from methane at its sewage treatment plant. It figures the generator could cover 30 percent of the plant's power needs and save the city $282,000 on its yearly electricity bill. The city's also looking to build a $20 million dollar Department of Services (plowing, etc.) building -- the old one is literally falling down. [Daily Gazette]

Walgreen's is looking to expand in the Capital Region, but it's facing some opposition. Its plan for a new store at Brandywine and State in Schenectady has been criticized as too "suburban" by city officials. And after hearing about the pharmacy giant's plan to open a new store in Lansigburgh, one resident there said "Tell Walgreens to shove it." [Daily Gazette] [Troy Record]

Saratoga supervisor Joanne Yepsen has come up 32 signatures short of the 1,000 she needs to get on the ballot to replace Joe Bruno. Yepsen says she thinks the signatures will ultimately be approved and blames fellow Democrat Mike Russo for challenging the signatures, which she called "a less than admirable tactic." [TU]

Joe Jennings, the brother of Albany major Jerry Jennings, died Sunday from cancer. He was 61. [TU]

July was the 10th rainiest ever recorded in the Capital Region. The month's 6.94 inches was almost double the average for July. [Daily Gazette]

The Fasig Tipton "select yearling sale" starts tonight in Saratoga -- it's described as the Tiffany's of horse sales. [Saratogian]

The Guilderland School Board will release the "culture climate inquiry" today that led to the re-assignment of two popular high school teachers to a middle school. The situation has prompted protests by parents and students -- and even led to the school board walking out of an earlier meeting when the topic came up. [TU]

A state legislator is floating the idea of a four-day school week to help school districts save money on heating and transportation costs. Local school officials don't appear to be warm to the idea. [Daily Gazette]

The City of Saratoga Springs is trying to figure out how to tax two "mega-mansions." For at least one of the properties, there's a bit of a gap between the city's assessment and the owner's number -- the city says $25 million, the owner says $6 million. [Saratogian]

The US Water Ski Show Team (the team that practices by Jumpin' Jacks in Scotia) has had to cut back on the number of boats it uses because of high gasoline prices. The team says it uses about $500 of gas during each show. [Daily Gazette]

Hundreds of people showed up at the Guilderland School Board meeting last night to protest the transfer of two popular social studies teachers. Then the school board walked out of the public forum. [TU]

A meeting Tuesday night of the Albany Gun Violence Task Force provided more evidence that the community and law enforcement officials have trust issues. [TU]

The philanthropist who put up the bulk of the money for the Kathina Thomas reward has given $5000 to the girl's family. Rudy Ciccotti decided to give the money to the family after the APD didn't indicate anyone should receive the reward. [CBS6]

According to federal stats from last year, the number of seized illegal guns per resident in Albany and Schenectady was higher than that of New York City. There are two ways to look at this. Half-full: police here are getting better at finding illegal guns. Half-empty: there are a lot of illegal guns on the streets. [TU]

Prosecutors say Jermayne Timmons, the 15-year-old accused of firing the shot that killed Kathina Thomas, wrote an apology letter to Thomas' mother. From the letter Timmons allegedly wrote: "I am so sorry that the gun I shot is the gun that could have takeing your baby girl away from you." [Daily Gazette]

An aide at a state facility in Schenectady has been charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly punching a blind autistic woman after the woman spilled the aide's salad. [Daily Gazette]

The Troy city engineer says the manhole-cover-popping explosions earlier this year were caused by arcing underground cables that had been corroded by road salt and water. [TU]

Saratoga Springs is renovating its jails cells and needs someplace to put prisoners while the work is being done. The current solution: handcuffing the arrested to hooks in the booking area. [Daily Gazette]

A new program in Albany will be "buying back" guns in an effort to rid the city of "community" guns like the one that was allegedly involved in Kathina Thomas' death. Here's how it works: you show up with a gun (unloaded, we hope), hand it over, they give you a $150 gift card for the mall, then the guns get turned over to the Albany County DA.

The Scoop

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Regional Economic Development Council awards The winners of the annual Regional Economic Development Council grants are expected to be announced today. $750 million will be... (more)

Recent Comments

I grew up in the Utica area and moved out here in 1998. It really is funny how different the cultures are less than 100 miles away.
It's more laid back in the Utica/Syracuse area, and the culture is much more "country" whereas Albany and a lot of the are around it is much more fast paced and has more of a NYC influence. Both are nice places to live, but definitely different vibes.